Omaha daily bee., 1887-02-21
BOARD OF HEALTH TROUBLES
Difficulty Experienced in Preventing Burial
Services Over Infected Persons.
COMPLAINTS OF IowA's INDIANS.
The Auditor of state Looking After
Underground Insurance Compa-
cs-Dissatisfaction With the
New Registration Law.
Concerning Contagious Diseases.

DEE. AT lllS SEASON. Ol llle year, NllcU COlllh-
gous diseases are spreading with great rapid
ity, the boards of health, both municipal and
state, are doing all they can to check them
and protect thp public. 1t is therefore pecu-
liarly trying to have anyone who ought to
know better attempt to violate the established
rules and plead ignorance as an excuse. A.
case of this kind recently occurred it State
Center, a little town north OF here. The rules
OF the state board of health expressly forbid
public funerals in case of death from any
contag iouS disease. A minister of that place
knowing the rules, went to house where
child had died of diphtheria, and held
burial service. He did it against the ruling
of the local board of health, the city phys-
clan telling him that he had no right to do so
and that IN the sight OF the law an audience
of ten persons and burial service consti.
tuted public funerak The minister was ar
rested and placed in quarantine for two days.
and feeling greatly aggrieved he applied to
the state board of health to know If the local
authorities were right in the way they had
treated him. lie received an answer that
was calculated to open his eyes, for the Sec
retary of the board told him in very plain
words that he ought to be punished for his
wllful or stupid violation of the law. "The
records in this Office" said the secretary,
''show that more persons die in this state an
nually from dlphtheria than from smallpox
or SC arlet fever combined, and all eminent
authors believe and teach that the disease is
highly infectious If not contagious. In the
case to which you refer, If you had children
at home, you wantOnly and recklessly eX-
posed them to the infection. In your pastoral
duties you were in danger of carrying the dis
ease to other houses and thus If not perpetu-
ating, at least spreading that disease"
All of which is very true, and the
surprising part of which is that a minister
supposed to be a man of intelligence and
Judgment should have to be told these things
SO sharply 1t is to be hoped that hereafter
the clergyman will understand that he must
obey the laws that relate to his business the
same as other men have to do.
LAZY LOT or Los.
Lo, the poor Indian, has again been work
ing his untntored mind TO the annoyance OF
the long suffering Indian commissioner at
Washington. Iowa still has few represent
atives of the aborignes who:are kept on
reservation in Tama county. They belong to
the old SacS and Foxes, and seem to be pretty
poor specimens of the race. few weeks
ago, a delegation of the leading men OF the
reservation came to Des MoineS and made
visit to the governor. After lingering around
known through their interpreter the burden
of their grief. Their principal complaint
was that the government had been remiss in
sending to the chiefs an annuity, of $500
| each which they claimed was due them
under treaty. Governor Larrabee promised
| to send their complaints to headquarters and
the commissioner of Indian affairs from
which it appears that the Iowa Indians are
pretty, stubborn facts. The commissioner
says that they have given his Office, great
| deal of trouble. Tho government has pro-
| yided farmer to instruct them in the peace
ful pursuits of agriculture, but they refuse to
learn. They have been furnished agrcul-
| tural implements, but they refuse to use
| them. A school has been established but
| they refuse to allow their children to
attend. :, So they slight or repeel
about all the Rryegss and Sopprt"nf
their Improvement and growth in cviliza-
ton. AS to the annuity the commissioner
explains that the 500 applies only to the
he further states that the portion of the Sacs
| and Foxes who went to the territory have
done great deal better and shown much
more disposition to leave their barbarons
| ways than have the Iowa contingent. He
thinks that eventually they will have to go
to the Indian Territory, where, under the
changed conditions, they may make the i'm
| provement that they refuse TO make here in
Iowa. That probably will be the solution of
| the Indian question so far as this state is con-
| cerncd, and no one here will complain when
| ii is reached.
HALF CENTURY RESIDENT.
| MI l.. X. Clapp, leading business man Of
| this city, is soon to celebrate his tiftieth an
| niversary in Iowa. A record of fifty years
| III u WtStCTn SldlS CONtIS SONIC IeIuTkuDlt
changes. There are but two other men in
Des Moines who have lived in the state as
| long; when he came to Iowa its entire popu-
lation was less than $1,000 people, or about
Moines. Mr.. Clapp has lived in Des MOines
forty-one years, and he tells some surprising
| stories OF the condition of things here at that
time. There were then but three houses be-
| tween OskaloOsa and this place. Des Moines
| was then called Fort DeS Moines, and was
trading post on tie frontier. A squad of
soldiers were still stationed here, to protect
the settlers from the Indians who roamed. all
over the surrounding country. Soon after
wards. little real estate boom started up,
and lots in what are now the
Sppassd Spsnfss at I SEQ and 81 s5 Rs Rsn s fee
square on which the Krkwood house is now
located was appraised at SS5, and by some re-
garded as eXtrayagant at that iigure, In those
| days there was neither railroad. steamboat or
stage coach, and the pioneer had to come
| overland. hauling his goods with horses or
oxen. After few years steamboats, began
to come up the Des Moines river at high
| water, and ran more or less regularly till
| 1861. In 1850 the first railroad, an extension
| of the Rock Island, came INTO Des Moines,
| and was the pioneer OF the fourteen roads
| that now radiate from this hub. Mr.. Clapp
| proposes soon to celebrate his semi-centen-
| NAL in Iowa with great party and reunion
| of old settlers which will be the great social
| event of the season.
| DISSATISFIED WITH THE REGISTRATION LAW
The people of Iowa cities that have to reg
lister before they can vote at any general elec
| ton, are ready to ask for change in the law
Last week was the time for registration and
| only about n third OF those who usually vote
| registered. There was a great mistake made
| IN compelling registration at every election,
| thus forcing at least two registrations with
attendant trouble and expense every year.
Last fall, prior to the general election. both
parties did pretty well in getting voters regis
tered but this spriny, OF winter rather, there
is so little interest taken in the approaching
city election that it has been very hard to get
the voters registered. II is estimated that
hardly more than til ird have taken the
trouble TO register. That means that
about two-thirds of the citizens can
not vote at the spring elections, No
register, no vote, is the meaning OF the new
law. A good many people here in Des
MoneS don't seem to understand that they
must go through the entire formula of regis
tratOn again, even though they were duly
re Iistered last fall. Many others are pro.
yoked at the requirement and say they will
not take the trouble second time in six
months and so they haven't and eonse-
auently can't vote. There ought 10 be and
probably will he a change in the law that will
make one registration last at least year,
and thus save much annoyance and trouble
to good citizens who would like 10 vote but
don't want TO have fool around registry
board every few months.